Why the U.S. Needs to Strengthen Online Copyrights: An Indie Filmmaker’s Perspective
The 2024-2025 National High School Policy Debate Topic is: Resolved: The United States federal government should significantly strengthen its protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and/or trademarks.
For over 30 years, I worked as a studio executive responsible for acquiring or producing indie films and distributing them. Bootlegged copies had always threatened to end filmmakers’ careers, sometimes before they had even started. But piracy skyrocketed with the advent of online streaming.
As I witnessed the devasting economic impacts of modern piracy, I became concerned for my community. Many talented creatives were no longer able to pursue their passion or earn a living in the film and television industry.
That’s why I became CEO of CreativeFuture, a nonprofit coalition of over 500 companies and organizations and over 300,000 individuals devoted to promoting the value of creativity in the digital age.
The Economic Impact of the Film and Television Industry and the Piracy That Undercuts It
The creative industries are an integral part of the U.S. economy. Copyrighted media including films, television, books, music, software, video games, and more generate $1.8 trillion/year and 9.6 million jobs. That amounts to 7.76% of GDP and 4.88% of the national workforce.
Contrary to a common misconception, our first-in-class film and television industry is not composed entirely of large conglomerates. It’s made up of over 122,000 businesses, 92% of which employ fewer than 10 people. Overall, the U.S. film industry contributes 2.74 million jobs and pays wages totaling $242 billion/year to workers around the country.
Unfortunately, widespread streaming piracy undercuts all of those economic contributions. Video piracy costs the U.S. economy between $29.2 and $71 billion, as well as between 230,000 and 560,000 jobs, every year. As a study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce concludes, “[A]ll of the benefits that streaming brings to our economy have been artificially capped by digital piracy.”
What the U.S. Federal Government Can Do to Combat Online Piracy
Some progress has been made to stem these losses. For instance, the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act (PLSA) closed a loophole that allowed U.S.-based criminal streaming enterprises to escape felony charges. Because of this law, it is now easier for federal law enforcement to go after piracy rings in the U.S. – but there is much more to be done.
We need other solutions for criminal enterprises based overseas, beyond our jurisdiction. One commonsense and time-tested approach is site blocking. In nearly 60 other countries, including major democratic allies, courts can order local internet service providers to block access to sites devoted to piracy. As studies have shown, site blocking is effective at increasing traffic for legal streamers. It has not undermined free expression, as Big Tech and affiliated groups frequently claim.
There is no magic bullet for piracy, but a U.S. site blocking law would be a significant tool for helping our industry recover some of the losses from theft. It would also help to protect the privacy and security of U.S. consumers. One-third of piracy sites expose users to malware, which can lead to viruses, hacking, identity theft, and credit card fraud.
Once we catch up to our allies who have already passed site blocking legislation in almost 60 countries around the world, we’ll have taken a meaningful step toward stemming online piracy and protecting creative livelihoods. With strong but appropriate online copyright laws, we can all look forward to a #CreativeFuture.
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Ruth Vitale is the CEO of CreativeFuture, a nonprofit coalition of over 500 companies and organizations and nearly 300,000 individuals devoted to promoting the value of creativity in the digital age. She has held top posts at Paramount Classics, Fine Line Features, and New Line Cinema.
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